FAA warns passengers not to use Samsung's Galaxy Note7 in planes

Bad Burn: Samsung's Galaxy Note 7 is quickly getting noticed for all the wrong reasons. Owners of this device should return it or get a replacement from Samsung before more fires are reported.The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) is warning users of Samsung Galaxy Note 7 smartphones not to charge or even use them in-flight. This is an escalation from recent reports that Australian airlines have banned the device after a series of fires and explosion incidents related to the Galaxy Note 7's battery.

On Thursday, the FAA said in a memo that it "strongly advises" passengers not to turn on or charge their Note 7s on board an aircraft and not to stow the phones in checked baggage. 

The FAA has previously warned that fires caused by the type of batteries found in cellphones can be hard to extinguish aboard planes. The problem here is that there are still Samsung Galaxy Note 7 users who persist on using the possibly defective smartphones and flight attendants can't bear the burden of checking who is using what device on the plance.

"There are a lot of duties that flight attendants have on board, and there has to be more staffing if this is going to be the case that they have to check every single phone for every single passenger on the plane," said Taylor Garland, a spokeswoman for the Association of Flight Attendants.

Samsung recalled the Galaxy Note 7, its latest flagship smartphone, after increasing incidents of the device exploding while charging. There have been reports just this week of the Note 7 causing fires in hotels, vehicles and even homes.

Source: CNN Money